The Mighty Force

Chapter 38 It's Not The End of The Road

The clouds integrated, growing ridiculously throughout dawn. The wind diligently caressed the leaves of the trees as the branches oscillated willingly. The temperature dropped, though not drastically, enough to arouse the obese clouds, heavily saturated.

With characteristics suited to a bloated sponge, the grey clouds expelled droplets of water which came pouring down to the earth. Soon enough, Queens was drenched with fallen water, a blissful phenomenon. 

Though it was drizzling, the rain's pursuit did not deter the spirit of the civilians of Queens. Like a flock of sheep, many of them gathered at the cemetery. The people in attendance knew the deceased, Maria Samson. They came to the burial to pay their respects and accompany her to her resting site.

Harrison looked at his mother's casket as it was lowered into the rich soil. Tears slipped down the young lad's eyes as grief latched onto his heart like a leech. Aside from him, Arthur, his father raised his hand to his and grabbed it. He tightened his grip around his son's hand to console him. Though he was in a far messier state emotionally, he masked his grief with a stern expression.

Harrison felt the tight grip around his hand. As the casket slowly descended, it slowly disappeared from his line of sight as if it was pulled in by Mother Nature's tender hands. Michael and Joseph, his two childhood friends resonated with his grief in some capacity. The two were also joined by the rest of the Mighty Force, along with Gordon. They watched in silence as the casket reached the bottom of the grave. Sam then placed his hand on the young lad's shoulder.

He could not help but feel responsible for his mother's death. If only he avoided watching the message that his father, Jeffrey left for him,  he wouldn't have disrupted their lives. They all would've been spared from the affliction that they endured.

And with that, Arthur rolled the wheelchair's wheels closer to the grave. There was a mound of dirt in front of the grave, all carefully placed.

Arthur pulled the wheelchair to a stop in front of the mound of dirt, then extended his hand to seize a handful of it. He walked around the burial site, reached inside, sprinkled some dirt in it, and murmured, "Goodbye Maria. You've made me a happy husband, and a proud father." 

After completing that task, he went back to the gazebo as Harrison followed and sprinkled soil fragments onto the coffin. Even though it was difficult acting on his own volition, he forced a smile and tried to convince himself that she was in a better place.

"Thank you for everything. You will always be my mother, even in death."

***********

The sun reappeared later that day, beaming a radiant smile and illuminating everything with his intense beams. He went to work cleaning up after the rain, drying every home and street. A few birds perched on street light wires and tree branches, while others flew freely above the sky.Sam, Diana, Dan, and Gordon were in the parking lot outside the apartment building at the new Samson's residence.

"So what's the way forward?" Harrison inquired as he tucked his hands into his pocket and faced the four.

Dan then spoke after him, "I'm thinking of going back to my farm. With the help of the insurance, I'll be able to rebuild the barn and replace everything that was destroyed in the flames."

Harrison nodded. Diana then caressed the tuft of hair that blanketed her forehead backward and smiled, "I'm not gonna lie to ya. I had a rough year in my music career, especially after being retrenched. I had time to reflect you know... I realized that I'm gonna take a break from music for a little while and try other things."

Harrison arched his brow with astonishment. Once Diana caught sight of his expression she imploded with laughter and gently tapped his right shoulder, "The look on your face is priceless. Anyway, don't worry, I'm not quitting my music career. I just need a break from that stressful environment. I'll also work on myself and come back even stronger."